Collapsible stock for handguns



July 20, 1954 Filed May 29, 1950 R. M. CATRON 2,683,948

COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR HANDGUNS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. Pas $5M. M. Us 712 mu BYWWW y 1954 R. M. CATRON 2,683,948

COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR HANDGUNS Filed May 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE. :2:

3nnentor Eusssu. M. C neoxv (Ittomeg! R. M. CATRON COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR HANDGUNS 7 July 20, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 29, 1950 Zhwentor Eusssaa I 4. CQTRO/v attorneys July 20, 1954 R M CATRON COLLAPSIBLE STOCK FOR HANDGUNS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 29, 195

INVENTOR. usssu. Chi-901v FIEELE fliTOR/VEVS Patented July 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE S TOCKEOR 'HANDGUNS Russell Macatron, Monterey, Calif. Application May 2t), 1950, .Serial No. 165,023

7 Claims.

The invention forming the subject matter of this application relates to a semi-jautomaticzor automatic hand gun and holster combination which may be converted into an effective machine pistol. It is an object of the invention to providea holster member for a hand gun which will be efiective as a container and readily convertible as a stock for the same when a shoulder rested weapon is desired. A further object is the minimum modification of the hand gun to render it susceptible for conversion with the holster member to a shoulder rested weapon.

Summarizing the invention, the holster element is provided with the requisite sheathing characteristics to accommodate and carry a hand gun, with due regard for ready access, and incr porates features essential to render the hand gun an effective shoulder rest weapon from the standpoint of rigidity and comfortable aim andease of firing. I The holster carries a collapsible bracing member which, when extended, serves to effectively interlock gun and holster into a rigid shoulder rested weapon. The handgun is modified only to the extent of providing a two-point connection with the holster and to permit theemployment of the magazine as a detachable forerlp.

In the drawings forming apart hereof; where in a preferred form of the invention'is shown, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the holster and gun with the latter sheathed in the former; a

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the combination of Figure 1; v Figure 3 is a side elevation of the. .Qlster. and hand gun interconnected in the assembly providing a machine pistol;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view oiflthe holster member with the brace carried thereby in. extended position and including fragmentary portions of the gun to show the connector means; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along theiline 55 of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a sectional view taken aloii'gthe line 'l'! of Figure 3, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the back of the hand gun to illustrate the lower holster connection. 7

The numeral Ill denotes the holster member which when attached to a hand gun ll, in the manner illustrated in Figure 3, has theoverall appearance and function of a shoulder'rested weapon stock. The holster is formed of an inner shell 22 of relatively light but strong sheet metal, having an inner and outer covering [3 and I4, respectively, of material such as leather or webbing, to provide a pliable, wear-resistant surface which will not mar the finish of the gun. The leather or webbing is molded into close adherence with the shell [2 and has its edges lapped thereover and secured, as by the stitching [5, or cementing.

The main body of the holster I0 is cylindrical incross section to accommodate the barrel and slide portion of the gun, and has a pair of spaced, rearwardly tapering wings l8 and i9 extending longitudinally thereof and projecting outwardly therefrom. As will be seen in Figure 7, the wings l8 and I9 are integral with the shell I 2, being extensions thereof bent outwardly in normally converging relationship but susceptible of being spread for lateral removal of the gun from the holster through slot 20, as will presently appear.

A semi-flexible flap 25 is formed at the butt end of wing 98 of the holster by continuing the leather covering members l3 and [4 thereof and stitching or otherwise joining their edges. This flap serves the dual purpose of carrying connector means, such as the spring eye fasteners 26, by which the holster may be swung from a shoul der harness or waist belt, and of providing a recoil pad when it is folded over the end of the holster as the unit is set up as a shoulder rested weapon. The spring eye fasteners are set with the heads angled inwardly at such an angle that they securely fasten the holster to a carrier member, but will yield to a single pull exerted above and between them to free the holster for use as a stock.

Forwardly in the holster 49, in alignment with and serving as an end for the cylindrical portion l2 thereof, there is provided a barrel muzzle cup 2 3, whichmay be of flexible material, such as leather, secured therein in any conventional way, such as by the rivets 29. This cup also serves as a positioner and guard for the firers cheek and The forepart of the holster i ii is fashioned into a downwardly turned lip 32, a portion of which is adapted to receive the upper rearwardly projecting end of the receiver frame 33 of the gun H. A post 34, seated within the lip 32, and formed as an integral part of a rearwardly extending bracing piece 35 secured between the shell I2 and its 'inner covering l3, as by the rivets 36, enters an 'holstr in "(see Figure 4).

A channel-shaped arm 40, pivotally connected at 4! to a member, hereinafter described, secured to the shell I2 of holster if), has a downwardly turned hook 42 on its opposite or free end. This hook is engageable with a slit 43 cut in the breakdown plug 44 of gun II, to provide the second connection between gun and holster in the assembly of the members into a shoulder rested weapon. Additionally, the forward end of the arm 40 is flared into wings 45 which bear against the sides of receiver frame 33 of gun I I, for added bracing.

A means of locking the two connections of gun and holster just described is supplied by the channel-shaped spreader or bracing link 48. The lower end of the link is pivotally connected, as at 50, to arm 4!? in spaced relation to its hooked end 42, and the opposite r upper end of the link carries a pin riding in the slot 52 of the housing 53 secured on the under side of holster l0. Within the housing 53 a coiled spring 51, abutting a chock 58 which is in juxtaposition to pivot 4|, and is secured to shell l2 of the holster 10, carries at its opposite end a follower piece 59 normally bearing against the pin 51 on arm 48. A spring clip 66 secured to the shell [2 of holster ID, has a lip disposed to engage the pin 5! as it is moved to the forward end of the slot 52 of housing 53.

In order to permit the use of the magazine or clip 65 as a foregrip, the underside of the barrel 66 of gun I l is cut away, as at 61, in the manner illustrated to best advantage in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5, to provide a seat for the magazine bottom plate 68. At its forward end the cut away of the barrel is rounded, as at 69 (see Figure 5) with a slight undercut, as at 18 (see Figure 3) to receive a rounded end of the magazine bottom plate 58. At its rear end the cut away portion 6! terminates in a slot H (see Figures 2 and 3) to receive the opposite end of plate 58 which, in this instance, is tapered at its leading edge, as at 12, to facilitate entry thereof. Additionally, the end of the plate is notched at 73 to engage a spring urged ball detent '54 positioned in a bore 15 terminating in slot H.

From the foregoing, the operation of the device will be readily understood as follows: assuming the holster H5 is being used to sheath the gun l I, as in Figures 1 and 2, the bracing linkages 4i) and 48 will be collapsed and nested, and the clip or magazine 65 will be housed in the receiver frame. This unit will be supported by the spring eyes 25 from shoulder harness or a waist belt. The nesting of the bracing linkages was accomplished by the release of spring clip it from its engagement with the pin 55 of link 68 which is then freed to move about its pivot 53 and compress spring 52, at the same time drawing arm 40 upwardly on its pivotal connection with ear 4|. As link 48 is channel-shaped in cross section, it will envelop a portion of housing 53 and the two will be, in turn, covered by the channelshaped arm All, in the manner shown in Figure 1, and held in this position by over-center pressure of spring 5? and engagement of pin 59 with the back of spring clip 65.

While the gun l I is most conveniently inserted into the holster lengthwise, that is to say, muzzle end first, the draw is effected by grasping the grip and pulling the same downwardly and outwardly, which serves to enlarge the slot 20 and spread the wings I3 and IQ for passage of the same.

When the gun H has been withdrawn from the holster, arm 40 is grasped by its hooked end 42 and swung away from the holster. Post 34 is inserted in the aperture 31 of the receiver frame 33, and the hook 42 is inserted in slot 43 in pin 44. Link 48 is then swung about its pivot until pin 5| is snapped into engagement with spring clip looking the holster, now serving as a stock, into rigid connection with the hand gun II. When pin 5| is in engagement with clip 60, the link 48 is in over-center position with respect to the thrust exerted on said link by link 4!]. Next clip or magazine 65 is removed from the gun receiver 33, by simple release of the catch 16, and inverted for engagement of its bottom plate 68 with the cut away 61 in the bottom of the barrel 66, by inserting an end in the undercut 69 and twisting the leading edge 12 of its opposite end into slot H to permit detent 14 to engage the notch 13 to lock it in place. The clip 65, now employed as a foregrip may now be replaced with a clip 18 of greater cartridge capacity.

The weapon is now ready for firing, being put into position by grasping the primary grip of the gun in the right hand and the foregrip with the left, and raising the butt end of the holster l0 against the shoulder. As hereinabove stated, flap, 25 as pressed against the shoulder serves as a modified recoil pad.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that all substantial equivalents of said embodiment are within the scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a hand gun and a shoulder stock therefor, with said hand gun and stock being provided with means for securing the latter to the former, said means comprising catch means carried at the tip of the stock and engageable with a rearwardly projecting upper portion of the gun receiver frame to constitute a first point of attachment between said gun and stock, a link pivotally connected at one end to the underside of said stock, and having catch means at its other end engageable with the hand gun butt at the lower portion of the rearward side of the same to constitute a second point of attachment between said gun and said stock, and means for maintaining said stock tip and said other end of said link in spaced relation to thereby preserve the attachment of their respective catch means with said gun comprising a second link having one end pivotally connected to said first link intermediate the ends of the latter and having its other end slidably connected to said stock, so that upon a predetermined degree of sliding of said other end of said second link toward said stock tip the catch means of said stock tip and said first link will be pressingly maintained in attached relation to said gun.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the catch means for the stock tip comprises a dowel pin upwardly insertable within an aperture of said gun receiver frame and the catch means for said first link comprises a hook member downwardly insertable within a slot provided in the gun butt.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 Wherein a spring clip means is provided in fixed relation to the stock and operable to yieldingly main tain the slidable end of the second link in position after said predetermined degree of sliding.

4. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein a spring means carried by said stock in association with the slidable end of said second link urges said end toward said stock tip.

5. The combination of a hand gun and a shoulder stock therefor, with said hand gun and stock being provided with means for bracingly attaching the tip of said stock to the gun, said means comprising, for the stock, a link having one end thereof pivotally secured to the stock at the underside thereof at a point located rearwardly of the tip of the stock, first catch means carried at the tip of said stock and second catch means carried at the other end of said link, and, for the gun, first catch means located at a rearwardly projecting portion of the gun receiver frame and second catch means located at the rearward side of the gun butt, with said first and second catch means for the gun being complementary, respectively, to the first and second catch means of the stock and enabling their mutual engagement upon a relative pivoting movement between said stock and link, and means for securing the pairs of catch means together comprising a member having a pivotal connection with one of said stock and link members and a slidable connection with the other, whereby said stock and link members may be positionally braced in attached relation with the gun.

6. For a hand gun, an attachment member in the general form of a shoulder type stock adapted to be secured to the gun to convert the same to a shoulder-restable weapon, said member being provided with means at its forward end engageable with an upper and rearward portion of the gun receiver frame, and means carried by said member and adapted to form a bracing connection between said member and a portion of the hand gun located below and in spaced relation to said portion of said receiver frame, said means adapted to form said bracing connection comprising a link pivotally secured at one end to said member at the underside thereof at a point located rearwardly of the forward end of said member, said link being provided at its other end with means enabling its attachment to the hand gun, and a spreader member having a slidable connection with said attachment member and a pivotal connection with said link operable upon a predetermined degree of movement of the slidable end thereof in the direction of the forward end of said attachment member to lock said link in angularly disposed relation to said attachment member.

7. For a hand gun, an attachment member therefor comprising a substantially triangularly shaped sheath open at the top and along one side thereof and having a closed side, said sheath having normally converging flexible wing portions adapted to embrace and retain a gun within said sheath against accidental removal through the open side thereof, said wing portions being yieldingly divergable to allow a forced removal of the gun through the open side of the sheath, a socket member adjacent the lower end of the sheath adapted to receive the end of the barrel of the gun for the support of the gun within the sheath, and means at the tip of the lower end of the sheath and at the closed side of the sheath comprising a two point connection for securing the sheath to the rearward end of the gun in shoulder stock position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 723,545 Phillips Mar. 24, 1903 1,016,695 Kimmel Feb. 6, 1912 1,266,633 Sachs May 21, 1918 1,276,572 Rogers Aug. 20, 1918 1,554,556 Camus Sept. 22, 1925 1,557,865 Neel et al. Oct. 20, 1925 2,145,078 Ferrel Jan. 24, 1939 2,324,125 Van Horn et al. July 13, 1943 2,405,758 Sampson Aug. 13, 1946 2,437,548 Patchett Mar. 9, 1948 

